In David Michod ’s latest film, Christy , Sydney Sweeney embodies the title role with ferocity and conviction. “Maybe it’s true,” she narrates between punches in the prologue. “Maybe I have demons inside of me.” The line, delivered mid-fight, encapsulates the film ’s theme: a woman’s relentless pursuit of triumph amid the toils of tragedy.

Sweeney plays Christy Martin, the trailblazing boxer who in the 1990s put women’s boxing on the map — creating the product, cultivating the audience, and forcing the sport to take her seriously. The cultural landscape then was nothing like today’s ESPN-boosted WNBA; Martin had everything working against her. Known to many for Euphoria , Sweeney herself has wrestled with being taken seriously by an audience inclined to ogle. Like every genera

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